Who Gives A Hug?

It can seem extravagant to spend money on luxuries like pedicures, massages, or yoga classes. I was one of those people who had those ideas, but I now understand the importance of such expenditures. One of the occupational hazards of healthcare is the strenuous stress on the body. When caring for others, dental and medical professionals endure frequent injuries due to positioning of the body and lifting/assisting others to care for their needs. Creating a self-care plan is essential to anyone who works in these fields, however, there are benefits for everyone, regardless of occupation.

PERSONAL TOUCH

For people who are single or live alone, personal touch is often elusive. It’s an awkward thing to ask random people for a hug, yet that hug is so powerful. One thing that connects us to each other is touch. Living alone or being single can leave a void in human touch.  The lack of it can have negative health implications. A Carnegie Mellon University study examined the effects of social support and hugs with those who were susceptible to developing the common cold after being exposed to the virus. Those with perceived social support were less likely to come down with a cold.  It’s suspected that the stress-buffering effects of hugging were beneficial.  Even those that got a cold who felt they had greater social support and frequent hugs, had less severe cold symptoms.  

Hugging is a marker of intimacy and helps to create that feeling that others care in the face of adversity.  People under stress are at greater risks for getting sick.  There are health related benefits to hugs.  It releases oxytocin, which is a bonding hormone.  Oxytocin promotes attachment and is released by the hypothalamus in the brain.  It influences mood, behavior and physiology.  Hugging and oxytocin release have a trickle-down effect throughout the body, causing the heart rate to slow and the stress hormone, cortisol and norepinephrine to drop. In a study conducted by Ohio State University, oxytocin was found to improve immune function and pain tolerance.  On the subject of mood, oxytocin has been shown to increase levels of feel-good hormones like serotonin and dopamine, both which have calming effects. It also has been linked in reducing depression and anxiety. 

STAY AWAY

We are becoming a society that is fearful of connection in a real way.  Our relationships are built on social media platforms and at best superficial. During the cold and flu season, we avoid people for fear of getting sick.  The Me2Movement has been blown way out of proportion so that now people are afraid to even touch another, especially if it’s the opposite gender. There are a lot of people who struggle each day with mental and physical health issues. Perhaps part of that reason is due to a disconnection from society. 

SELF-CARE

After my husband died, I decided I would get a massage on a regular basis for the first year so I would have that personal touch. As an added bonus those massages helped me in my dental hygiene profession.  I found it to be beneficial not only in a physical way, but also soothing to my mind and spirit.  Self-care practices should be utilized daily, not just monthly.  It’s important to check in with yourself each day, and sometimes during the day. How are you feeling? What’s going on inside your mind/body/spirit that needs attention? I hope you will consider setting aside time and resources for self-care practices. These are not luxuries, but essentials. One cannot care for others and give of themselves if their own vessel is struggling.  Stop a moment and consider what you do for self-care that keeps you well balanced and whole.  Perhaps if you need a hug, then give one away.  You both will reap the benefits.

Health Bite: “The Best Place in the World is Inside a Hug.” –J Quest

Heredity or Habit?

Our body is made up of billions of cells that form our bones, muscles, tendons, blood, etc.  Without them, we would not exist in human form. In those cells are DNA chains that determine sequences of how cells will act or express as to what their particular job is.  

Heredity plays a large portion in our cells and can predispose us in a variety of ways.  Our looks, for example is a heredity feature we inherited from our parents. How tall we are, the color of our eyes, hair, and skin. For many, the shape of our body is also based on our heredity.  While some seem to be skinny, others seem to bulk right up.  That being said, I think many times heredity is blamed when things go poorly, but is it really our parent’s fault?

When my late husband was diagnosed with cancer, he asked the doctor how it happened.  The doctor told him is was "bad luck."  Personally, I don't believe in luck.  I believe there is a Devine plan that give an opportunity for growth.  Each of us are given choices to make; I wrote about that recently in a previous post. It's those choices and the plan of action that can determine the future.  

Let's take a look as some habits.  A habit is defined as a routine or behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.  Habits are both good and bad.  When I observe people and their families, I notice the habits being similar.  Children learn from the adults and the adults learn from other adults and so on.  These habits are not necessarily DNA or cell generated but one of observance and repeating behaviors.  Habits are also formed from social norms. Handshaking and saying “Hello” to someone are habits that we acquire in our life. These are not heredity traits, but habits that are learned along in life. Habits are learned at the kitchen table with food preparation and dietary intake. Habits are learned when a family goes for a walk or hike on a Sunday afternoon. I believe it’s these habits that we often confuse with heredity factors.

I have observed in the dental practice, patients that are healthy with a family history of diabetes, cancer, and/or heart issues. I’ve also seen the opposite. Those that are unhealthy with a similar family medical history. Is it bad luck or is it that the patient is making choices that sustain health? I think it’s the later. Studies show that only about 5% of the time does heredity play into disease diagnosis. Too often, we give in to the notion that it’s our destiny to receive the same health fate as our parents. If that’s the case, I’m in big trouble. Here’s my history:

• grandmother died of cancer—age 54

• father died of cancer—age 63

• mother died of cancer—age 78

I refuse to give into the idea that this is my fate. By choosing to live differently, I think we can change our DNA expression and live a full abundant life. That will look differently for each one of us. It’s a daily decision for me to choose foods that will sustain life. There are land mines around me that I have to stragetically avoid. To be honest, it was difficult at first to walk past the cookies and donuts in the office. But over time, I now have no desire to eat those things. For me, those few moments of eating pleasure isn’t worth the months or years of chronic disease.

It’s not heredity that keeps a person on the couch playing video games or bing watching movies. It’s not heredity that frequents the drive thru at the fast-food restaurant or giving into those sugar cravings. These are habits that will not likely sustain health for the long haul. Habits, like these, are toxic to our cells and can lead to distress and eventually disease to our body.

Please hear me say that there are factors that predispose us to disease, and if continuing to live the same way as our parents, can end up with the same fate. Ponder the thoughts of what is heredity or habit. What decisions are you making to sustain health vs. leading to disease? Each of us has the ability to change the expression of our DNA based on our environment, whether that is internal or external. How do you want to go out? Live well and die quickly or linger for years and die a slow death? I’m opting for the first scenario. Will you join me? I need to have someone around when I’m 90 years old to share a glass of wine with!

Health bite: Fate is not based on one’s heredity but the habits you acquire.